Wednesday, July 30, 2008

I've been feeling very lazy lately. I think it's partly in reaction to work, where there is far too much to do, so that when I'm home I don't want to do anything. It's sort of my passive-agressive way of having free time, except the only person I'm annoying is myself. But since I get annoyed when my friends don't update their blogs (how dare they go have lives instead of writing about them!), I thought I should update mine, just in case anyone feels that way about me. I assure you, when I'm not writing here, I am not out having fun. I'm probably just sacked out in the living room watching tv and trying not to melt into my armchair.

So. Here's a picture of the finished summer socks by Wendyknits. Please ignore my large and pasty legs. It is hard to take a picture of your feet while you're wearing socks. Especially when it's hot outside.

Also, here's a picture of the sock-in-progress: It's the Oriel pattern from Charlene Schurch's Sensational Knitted Socks. I'm now all the way up to the leg, so I guess I should take a new picture, huh?? I'm very pleased with this sock. First of all, the yarn (Dream in Color Smooshy in Lunar Zazzle) is WONDERFUL! It is indeed very smooshy. I love the color and it's knitting up into a fabric that I think will be very comfy to wear. Secondly, this is the sock on which I finally learned how to pick up stitches. Just like my old foe the matress stitch, picking up stitches has always been an ordeal for me. With the matress stitch, I had to watch someone do it before it all clicked. This time, I looked at the instructions in the book and suddenly the light went on. Usually the picking-up stiches part of a sock involves a lot of swearing, but not a curse word was said this time. Thirdly, I got lots of compliments on it at the last knitting group I went to, which was very good for the ego.

In other knitting matters, this past week I got the happy news that this winter there will be two new babies in need of knitted goodies. I'm very happy for my friends, and I'm also happy for me, because I love to knit baby stuff. It's cute and its little, which are both good incentives for me to get things done. I'm thinking maybe some of the booties that my friend Wife, Mom, Knitter's been making for the girl baby, but I don't know what to do about the baby-of-indeterminate-gender just yet. (The baby does have a gender, the parents just aren't saying, so I'm going to go with something neutral.) Maybe a knitted toy or two?

Sunday, July 13, 2008

The weather was actually pretty nice today, which is always a welcome discovery when you have no air conditioning. It bugs me a little that between the heat and the job I'm in such a hurry to have summer hurry up and get over with. I used to like summer. It used to be a break. Right now it's an inconvenience and that makes me a little sad. I wonder why I didn't feel this way when I was working before -- I think the stress of school and finances are contributory factors here. Also, in Connecticut there was air conditioning and the commute was not nearly so draining.So what have I been up to since I last updated?

Well, I went to Queens and watched the Macy's 4th of July fireworks from Long Island City. It was so much fun. I can't remember the last time I went to go watch fireworks, and I haven't seen such a big display in I don't know how long.

I've been working (still). The internship is now half-way over. Time is flying, and that's been a pleasant discovery.

But since time is flying, I have to get my butt in gear about learning to read German. I went to the library today and did two and a half chapters from the book. By the end, I really seemed to be getting it. I'll be curious to see how well I did when I check the answers. Unlike the French exam I took last year, this time I don't have much of a background in the language to see me through. I really have to work on the rules for case and tense with verbs, and I'm trying to bulk up my vocabulary as well. We are allowed to have a dictionary when we take our tests, and I guess if you were fast enough you could just look up every word, but I don't really think that's a very sound strategy. Besides, I hear the German tutor is a very strict grader (To quote my brother, "The German tutor is strict? Well that's a surprise.")

Also, the internet seems to be back, for me at least. I'm not sure what has triggered my connection issues, but whatever it is seems to have resolved itself more or less. Thank goodness. I can deal with no cable tv, but no internet? That's just cruel.

I've also been knitting. And I even have some pictures to prove it. I still haven't woven in the ends on the Storm Water Scarf, and I still haven't blocked it, but here's a picture so you can see how gorgeous it is. I can't wait to start wearing it.

It's hard to see the color changes, but it goes from lime green to deep teal. It's also amazingly soft. Handmaiden Sea Silk is one of the most luxurious things I've ever knit with. I can't wait to buy some more and try something else.

And here's a sock!

This is the official pattern of the 2008 Summer of Socks, designed by Wendyknits. The yarn is Regia Bamboo. It's a little splitty, but not too bad. I've finished sock one and am ready to start the leg on sock two (it's a toe-up pattern). It's very easy, but seems to be progressing very slowly -- I think because the pattern repeat is only three rows, so it doesn't seem like you've accomplished much each time you finish a repeat. But then it seems to grow all of a sudden. Must be sock physics. I'm very anxious to get this finished this week so I can enter it in this period's contest -- every two weeks there are drawings for people who've completed a pair of socks. It would be nice to get lucky!

I'm mostly concentrating on the sock right now, but I'm also looking forward to working on my Icarus shawl some more. I made good progress on it while waiting for the Summer of Socks to start and I want to keep going on it while I'm still in the mood for lace. Since I was good and went to the library, I feel I've earned a bit of knitting time tonight.

And that's what's up with Erin tonight. I'll try to be a better poster, but if you need an instant update, you can also find me on plurk.com, which is really kind of fun. See the widget over on the right?

Wednesday, July 02, 2008

I do not know if there are words to express how unpleasant the past week has been. Remember how I was complaining that things were boring in my last post? I should have known better. After that, things got hectic and uncomfortable at work due to looming deadlines and confusion over who was in charge of what. I got caught in the middle, and it made me very uneasy. Also my internet broke (boo!), and then my computer broke (double boo!), and then they both mysteriously fixed themselves (huh? but yay!), except now they're super fiddly (hmmm...) and I can't guarantee that I'll have internet access at any given moment (meh).

But! There is light at the end of the tunnel. I was already looking forward to having Friday off, but now I get tomorrow off too, thanks to my very kind supervisor who decided we had all been through enough this week and gave us permission to start the weekend early. I am sleeping in tomorrow!!! I kind of suspect that we are getting the day off because she wants a day off, but I am NOT going to look this gift horse in the mouth.

A WT-related side note: Yesterday was an incredibly demoralizing day, so to pep myself up today I wore (brace yourselves) a dress! (I know, I'm a little surprised, too). I got so many compliments on my appearance today. It was a little weird -- did I look that bad before? -- but nice. I felt a little different, too. Don't know that I'll wear dresses everyday, but I might trot them out a little more frequently. They're good for morale. :)